Thanks for the Sincha updates. I went ahead and preordered from O-Cha; Yutaka Midori, Sae Midori, Kaoru & Chiran. Really looking forward to trying these - the only one I know I love is Yutaka Midori so this will be a treat.

victoria3 wrote:Thanks for the Sincha updates. I went ahead and preordered from O-Cha; Yutaka Midori, Sae Midori, Kaoru & Chiran. Really looking forward to trying these - the only one I know I love is Yutaka Midori so this will be a treat.

I ordred the Yukata Midori and the Sae Midori. I had no idea the Yukata Midori was such a classic!

We've been selling pre-order shincha for about 14 years. We've always charged for pre-orders, this is the first time I've ever had anyone question it. Are we the only ones? I assume this is the norm, not sure. Our pre-order customers get first priority once the tea comes in, it's shipped the same day we get it. We also give a 10% discount (limited time only) to our newsletter and Facebook subscribers if they pre-order shincha. The reason we do this is so we know how many to order, and in return we give the discount. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to try and collect, process, obtain FDA Prior notice numbers, etc, etc, on hundreds of orders all at once? How many of those pre-orders would actually be good when it came time to charge them? We could never get them out to everyone the same day we get the tea. So yes, at least with us, if you wish to pre-order then you must pre-pay, but you at least have the ability to get a 10% discount on the tea by doing so. If this doesn't work for you, then you should probably hold out until the shincha is in, that is no problem.

Kevangogh wrote:...We've been selling pre-order shincha for about 14 years. We've always charged for pre-orders, this is the first time I've ever had anyone question it. Are we the only ones? I assume this is the norm, not sure. Our pre-order customers get first priority once the tea comes in, it's shipped the same day we get it. We also give a 10% discount....

I'm totally jazzed by the concept of preorder and preorder upfront payment. As a buyer, it makes me feel like I'm a part of your selection process, that I can lock in a commitment to your company and support your ability to hand pick quality sinchas each year. The discount is a super nice perk. Thank you.

We've been selling pre-order shincha for about 14 years. We've always charged for pre-orders, this is the first time I've ever had anyone question it. Are we the only ones? I assume this is the norm, not sure. Our pre-order customers get first priority once the tea comes in, it's shipped the same day we get it. We also give a 10% discount (limited time only) to our newsletter and Facebook subscribers if they pre-order shincha. The reason we do this is so we know how many to order, and in return we give the discount. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to try and collect, process, obtain FDA Prior notice numbers, etc, etc, on hundreds of orders all at once? How many of those pre-orders would actually be good when it came time to charge them? We could never get them out to everyone the same day we get the tea. So yes, at least with us, if you wish to pre-order then you must pre-pay, but you at least have the ability to get a 10% discount on the tea by doing so. If this doesn't work for you, then you should probably hold out until the shincha is in, that is no problem.

I did not mean to question your business model, Kevin. After all, I order from you frequently and am looking forward to your annual clearance sale.(You are having a clearance sale, aren't you? )

But for me personally, one of the ordering guidelines I have in place (and there are several) is to refrain from ordering when there is a big gap between charging my credit card and shipping the goods. This applies to all tea companies (and all companies I general, come to think of it), and not just to O-Cha.

And yes, the 10% discount is very nice. Even though I won't use it, I'll say "Many Thanks"!

I'm not excited enough about shincha to bother with preorders, but I don't think that Kevin is doing anything wrong by charging early if he makes it clear. Also, customers might prefer earlier payment in order to get 10% off. (If you look at it as an interest payment, its a pretty good rate.) But, to answer his question, I am pretty he is the only vendor that charges before shipping.

Outside of the world of tea I actually can't think of a company that doesn't make you pay for a preorder upfront. I preorder new albums from my favourite musicians all the time and paying upfront for the preorder is standard practice.

edkrueger wrote:I'm not excited enough about shincha to bother with preorders, but I don't think that Kevin is doing anything wrong by charging early if he makes it clear. Also, customers might prefer earlier payment in order to get 10% off. (If you look at it as an interest payment, its a pretty good rate.) But, to answer his question, I am pretty he is the only vendor that charges before shipping.

Yuuki-cha charged me for pre-orders when I attempted to order from them 2 years ago for Shincha.

I apologize for answering a question to the best of my memory. I do now recall that Yuukicha refunded my money on shincha preorders when they didn't order any tea because of the radiation scare. So must have had my money first.

I do recall quite a few sites saying things like that they wouldn't bill until they had the tea in.

minor_glitch wrote:Outside of the world of tea I actually can't think of a company that doesn't make you pay for a preorder upfront. I preorder new albums from my favourite musicians all the time and paying upfront for the preorder is standard practice.

In the UK 99% of online shops only charge on dispatch. Doesnt bother me either way....just need to know upfront